Peninsula Paris prepares for August opening

Peninsula Hotels is to open its first European property in Paris on August 1.

The Peninsula Paris is housed in a late 19th-century building on Avenue Kléber in the 16th arrondissement, close to the Arc de Triomphe. The building was once home to the Hotel Majestic.

Robert Cheng, the Hong Kong-based group's vice-president of marketing, told Business Traveller that it was "a significant opening for us, and for Paris".

He added: "We've spent a lot of time restoring the building to its former glory." He called the interiors a "balance of old-world France and contemporary French design".

The property will have 200 rooms, including 53 suites. Five of these are rooftop suites with their own private gardens. Rooms start from 40 sqm, with most standard-category rooms being 55 sqm on average, Cheng said.

There will be two lobby entrances — one for pedestrians and one for arrival by car with an underground car park. Three subterranean levels have been excavated and will also house the property's 1,800 sqm spa, gym and 22-metre pool.

Food and drink options will include the Lobby for afternoon tea, Lili for Cantonese fine-dining, the Kléber bar and streetside terrace, a cigar lounge, and L'Oiseau Blanc rooftop restaurant and terrace, which will offer 360-degree views of the city. Meeting facilities include a 100-capacity ballroom.

Rooms will be equipped with bedside, desk and dressing room tablets allowing guests to control the lights, blinds, temperature and TV, access hotel services and check weather and flight information, programmed in 11 languages.

Last year, Peninsula bought a site on Grosvenor Place for its first London property, plans for which are under development (see news, June 2013).

It is refurbishing the rooms and suites in its Chicago hotel this year.